The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
The drive properties and thus drive comfort of vehicles equipped with pneumatic tires traveling on road surfaces is greatly influenced by the properties of the tires used. In this connection the tread portion of a tire is the point of contact between a vehicle and the road surface. Every road surface has some degree of unevenness, e.g. due to small bumps present in the road surface. Thus, the tire cannot be made of too stiff a material, as otherwise the tires merely transmit the road surface properties to the vehicle. For this reason the tire has to be made of a material which is slightly deformable so that influences of the road surface on the drive property of the vehicle can be reduced.
Different types of rubber compounds are used to manufacture different types of tires. The type of compound used is generally selected in dependence on its use, for example, in dependence on whether a summer or winter tire is desired and on the types of vehicle speeds the tire has to withstand without failing. However, if a rubber compound is used which is very deformable, then this leads to an increase in heat build-up in the tire and an increase in rolling resistance which in turn leads to a higher fuel consumption and a higher tire wear. In addition, handling performance of the tire generally decreases with increasing deformability.
One object of this disclosure is to provide a tire which simultaneously has a low rolling resistance and a high handling performance.